FG Steps in as Dangote–NUPENG Face-Off Threatens Fuel Supply

Nigeria’s Ministry of Labour and Employment on Monday convened an emergency conciliation after oil workers’ union NUPENG vowed to down tools in a dispute with the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, raising the risk of fresh pump queues nationwide.

The ministry brought the tripartite meeting forward to head off disruption, though the session was briefly delayed as union leaders travelled to Abuja.

The flashpoint

NUPENG alleges “anti-union” practices around Dangote’s plan to deploy thousands of compressed natural gas (CNG) trucks for direct product haulage, arguing the move could sideline existing petroleum tanker drivers or pressure recruits to sign undertakings not to join industry unions. The union says such conditions would breach freedom-of-association guarantees in Nigerian law and international labour standards.

Labour allies have weighed in. Senior oil workers’ body, PENGASSAN, declared solidarity with NUPENG and warned it could join any shutdown if unionisation is resisted at the refinery. The Nigeria Labour Congress has also placed affiliates on standby for supportive action.

Adding pressure, the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) has issued a three-day “forewarning” suspension of lifting and dispensing, set to start on Tuesday, framing it as a protest against monopolistic behaviour in the downstream market. PETROAN urged government intervention and told station owners not to sanction pump attendants who join the action.

Government steps in

The Labour Ministry says it has summoned all sides for conciliation and appealed to unions to suspend threatened stoppages, given the likely nationwide hardship from any disruption in fuel logistics. Officials insist talks are aimed at balancing workers’ rights, competition concerns and market stability.

Dangote Group has rejected claims that the refinery’s petrol unit faces a lengthy shutdown, describing reports of a two-to-three-month outage as misinformation. The company says operations are continuing and that its logistics strategy, including CNG trucks, is intended to cut costs and improve reliability.

In a post-subsidy fuel market where private players set the pace, any halt at depots or a large-scale drivers’ strike would squeeze product flows, raise transport costs and feed through to headline inflation,just as schools reopen and household budgets are already strained. A swift, credible truce is essential to steady confidence in reforms designed to end chronic queues.

What to watch next

• Outcome of Abuja talks: Whether conciliation yields a concrete framework on union rights for drivers and a pathway to coexistence with Dangote’s planned CNG fleet.
  
• Retail station operations from Tuesday: PETROAN’s three-day forewarning and any parallel decisions by other marketer groups.
  
• Any presidential or regulatory directives: A formal government position could set the tone for competition policy and labour standards across the downstream sector.